"Troublemakers?!" Almost instantly, a vein popped up from Patriarch Skyflame’s temple. However, he reeled himself in as he tried to see through the young man who confidently brought himself to them.

No matter how much he tried to inspect Lin Mo’s cultivation base, he found out that he was nothing more than a late Foundation Establishment Stage brat. It was nothing special.

A simple flick from him would be enough to kill Lin Mo.

Nevertheless, the fact that Mu Wuyan’s heaven-grade artifact was destroyed by Lin Mo had been confirmed by him. Not only that, during that confrontation, more than half of the Grand Elder’s subordinates fell.

"Brother Skyflame, do not be rash," Matriarch Deep-Root transmitted her voice directly into his mind, her own aura pulling back slightly. "I, too, am baffled. He’s a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator yet he was devoid of fear. He looks upon us not as a mouse looks at a hawk, but... how a farmer looks at a sudden shift in the weather. An annoyance, perhaps, but not an existential threat."

"A farmer?!" Skyflame roared internally, though he kept his physical mouth shut. "We are the pinnacle of the Western Sacred Lands! He dares call us troublemakers and threatens us with a ’policy’? The Violethaven Temple was right. This insolence is a disease."

"We cannot conclude that yet. Remember what we’ve seen on the way here. Besides, that construct gives me the sensation of looking into an immortal artifact. But it’s clearly not one. It’s full of mysteries." Matriarch Deep-Root sensibly cautioned. "It does not possess a soul, yet it deflected your aura and Jadebone’s strike without a single rune activating. Not even a hint of spiritual energy or any type of law. It simply... absorbed it."

Patriarch Skyflame gritted his teeth as the white fire around his shoulders gradually calmed down.

To be lectured by a junior, a mere Foundation Establishment ant, and to be told to mind a ’policy’, it was an insult that demanded blood. Yet, the cold, grinding logic of Deep-Root held him back.

He might be proud of his current attainment, but he was not an idiot. He had survived to the Immortal Embryo stage by knowing which fires to stoke and which to observe. Furthermore, the fact that the Violethaven Temple suffered from this store wasn’t fiction. He also heard about the Sect Master of one of their subordinate sects, a Void Refinement Stage cultivator, perishing in this land.

Patriarch Jadebone, however, decided to test the waters. If physical force was absorbed, perhaps a more subtle approach was required.

"You possess a remarkably sharp tongue for a junior with such a shallow cultivation base, Shopkeeper," Jadebone sneered as he quietly unleashed a soul-piercing technique designed to bypass physical barriers and rattle a cultivator’s spiritual sea, forcing them into submission.

The invisible wave of intent aimed directly at Lin Mo. However, it also quietly dispersed washed over the massive Guardian Construct. The space around it was like a domain shielding Lin Mo. Furthermore, the divine artifact loaned by Lihua had already been returned by Xiaoyu to him. It can also protect him against soul attacks.

Regardless, Lin Mo almost tumbled back. Even if that was blocked, the immense pressure made his dantian feel a dreadful sensation as if it were on the verge of breaking down.

A cold sweat ran down his back but he still maintained his composure. He had to.

"A sharp tongue is generally considered bad for customer service, Patriarch Jadebone," Lin Mo replied, his voice remaining amplified and perfectly pleasant. "I prefer to think of it as clear, transparent communication. We find that setting expectations early prevents messy refunds later."

Jadebone’s gemstone eyes narrowed. A direct soul attack from a Peak Law Integration expert had just been entirely ignored by a Foundation Establishment youth.

"However," Lin Mo continued as his voice gradually turned colder, "I must advise you, esteemed guests. That soul attack from Patriarch Jadebone should be the last time you probe us. Our store may be welcoming of every patron but we do not tolerate those who are hostile to us."

Upon saying that, Lin Mo directed the Divine Guardian Construct to descend, turning his back to them.

Left with conflicting thoughts, the three experts stared at each other and communicated internally.

In the end, Matriarch Deep-Root successfully convinced the other two to be patient. She then stepped forward and followed behind Lin Mo.

Her objective was clear. She wanted to sate her curiosity about the establishment that shook the Violethaven Temple.

Patriarch Skyflame and Patriarch Jadebone exchanged a dark look, but neither was willing to be the one left standing outside like a frightened novice. Snorting in unison, they smoothed their robes, gathered their immense, world-shaking pride, and followed Matriarch Deep-Root toward the glowing entrance of the Divine Convenience Store.

As they stepped past the threshold, they suddenly felt something washing over them. Before long, they all froze as they sensed something wrong.

The Spirit-Dispersing Beacon, hanging innocuously near the ceiling, had been activated.

For Patriarch Skyflame, the corona of white, world-incinerating fire that had hovered around his shoulders for the last four hundred years suddenly sputtered and died. It was as if someone had simply pinched out a candle.

Patriarch Jadebone felt the oppressive, mountain-crushing gravity he naturally exuded simply vanish, leaving him feeling bizarrely light, almost weightless.

Matriarch Deep-Root stumbled, her eyes snapping wide open. The sprawling, continent-spanning network of roots and earth-ley lines she was perpetually connected to had been severed. Instead, she found herself standing in an environment of absolute order.

"My flames..." Skyflame whispered, lifting his hands. He tried to summon even a spark of his foundational Dao fire. His spiritual sea wasn’t sealed but the moment he tried to conjure a hint of spiritual energy, he could sense it dispersing right away.

"An absolute suppression array," Jadebone hissed, his gemstone skin losing its luster. "To completely negate an Immortal Embryo... what grade of artifact is powering this building?"

"This is... not good." Even Matriarch Deep-Root frowned as she didn’t think she’d be put under such a situation.

Instinctively, the three of them jumped back outside, not daring to take another step inside the store. They all breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they sensed that they could once again conjure their spiritual energy.

However, they all looked at Lin Mo with accusatory gazes.

"Explain, Shopkeeper. Are you actually planning on acting against us?! Why do you have a suppression array inside your shop?!" Patriarch Skyflame started.

"Tsk. You talk about customer service but do you put all your patrons under your mercy?" Patriarch Jadebone clicked his tongue.

"I must admit. This isn’t right, Shopkeeper. You invite us into your establishment and yet you are trying to scheme against us." Matriarch Deep-Root also felt wronged. Although she could reel in her pride as a peak Law Integration Stage expert to sate her curiosity, she couldn’t let herself become a pig ready to be slaughtered under someone else’s domain.

"Esteemed guests, you all misunderstand." Lin Mo couldn’t help but wryly smile. He expected their reaction, but not to this extent. After all, even Patriarch Liu Tianfeng didn’t feel offended when he was first put under the effect of the Spirit-Dispersing Beacon. After all, the old Patriarch knew that it was to prevent the patrons from causing trouble in the store. It was a precaution set to avoid destruction.

"This is not a trap, nor is it a scheme," Lin Mo continued, his voice adopting the patient, reassuring cadence of a manager explaining store policies to a particularly difficult customer. "What you experienced is simply our establishment’s primary security measure. We call it the Spirit-Dispersing Beacon. Its sole purpose is to neutralize any active spiritual energy or intent within the confines of the store proper. It ensures that a disagreement over the last packet of snacks does not result in a crater where my aisles used to be."

He gestured an open hand toward the brightly lit interior.

"In the Divine Convenience Store, a Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator and a Law Integration Patriarch are exactly the same: patrons. The beacon enforces that equality. It does not harm your foundation, nor does it seal your dantian permanently. As you have just felt, stepping outside instantly restores your connection to the world’s spiritual energy. It is, purely and simply, a liability management protocol."

Patriarch Skyflame sneered but the apprehension in his eyes betrayed his bluster. "Equality? You dare speak to me of equality with the dirt-crawling commoners? I am the master of the Celestial Flame! To strip me of my Dao fire is to strip me of my dignity!"

"Dignity is how you carry yourself, Patriarch, not how brightly you burn," Lin Mo countered smoothly. "If your pride requires the constant threat of incineration to be maintained, then perhaps it is more fragile than you realize. I assure you, inside, no one can harm you, just as you cannot harm them. You are perfectly safe."

Matriarch Deep-Root observed Lin Mo’s unflinching demeanor. Her ancient, calculating mind weighed the risks.

He was standing completely relaxed, devoid of any killing intent. If this were a trap, it was the most poorly executed one in the history of the First Heaven.

Or, terrifyingly, it wasn’t a trap at all, but exactly what he claimed it to be: a set of house rules.